Children's and youth's likelihood of smoking and vaping is associated with social media use
Last reviewed: 14.06.2024
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Researchers from the respiratory journal Thorax found that the more time children and youth spend on social media, the more likely they are to start smoking or using e-cigarettes.
Research shows that spending seven or more hours on social media on a weekday is associated with more than doubling the risk of smoking or vaping among young people ages 10 to 25. These findings add to concerns about the impact of marketing on these platforms.
Most of the research on this topic was conducted in the United States, so scientists decided to study the situation in the UK using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study for 2015–2021. Participants were asked about their usual weekday social media use, as well as their current smoking and vaping habits.
Of the 10,808 participants who submitted a total of 27,962 observations, just over 8.5% reported current smoking, 2.5% reported vaping, and just over 1% reported dual use.
The analysis found that smoking, vaping and dual use were more common among those who spent more time on social media. For example, 2% of those who did not use social media smoked, while among those who spent seven or more hours a day on it, almost 16% smoked.
The likelihood of smoking, vaping, and dual use also increased with time spent on social media. Those who spent less than one hour a day on social media were 92% more likely to smoke than those who did not use it at all, and those who spent seven or more hours a day were more than 3.5% more likely to smoke. Times more likely to smoke.
The study also found that men, those under the legal purchase age and those from higher-income households were more likely to use e-cigarettes. However, this is an observational study and therefore no firm conclusions can be drawn about causal factors. The researchers also acknowledged that the study relied on self-reported data and that they did not have information about specific social media platforms or how to use them.
However, the researchers suggest several explanations for their findings. First, cigarette and vaping companies use social media to advertise their products, which may increase the likelihood of youth use. Second, social media use may share commonalities with reward-seeking behavior that increases susceptibility to other addictive behaviors such as smoking. Third, social media, which is largely unmonitored by parents, may encourage rule-breaking behavior, including smoking and vaping.
The researchers conclude that social media companies have significant power to change exposure to content that promotes smoking and vaping, and that voluntary codes are likely to be less effective. They propose to consider introducing and enforcing bans on materials advertising such products.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Kim Lavoie of the University of Montreal expresses concern about the popularity of e-cigarettes and vaping among young people, emphasizing the importance of regulating advertising and algorithms that target underage users.
Source: Medical Xpress